Fire Flower shook her head, trying to get rid of the sudden dizziness that had assaulted her senses. She groaned and tried to refocus her eyes as she dragged herself out from under the heavy painting, while looking at Crow. The stallion was watching the sea of black birds with utter terror as they flew around what was left of the ship's hull, his legs trembling violently, as a silhouete started to walk towards him.
"You seem to be fine." said the figure: an old, wrinkly stallion with a greysh coat was slowly walking along the rotten planks of the ship, his yellowish eyes gazing at the unicorn in front of him as wind and rain crackled around the grounded vessel. A hooked horn poked out from his head, menacingly reflecting the lightning that danced through the sky.
"I... dad, how...?" stuttered the unicorn, his eyes big as plates, trying to step away. He flinched when the older pony stomped on the ground, glaring at him. The cawing of the crows echoed around them, as the storm of birds kept the hull in the air.
"You have lost your manners, Crow. You should continue to call me Lord Vulture in any occasion. Decaying into common nominations is something that ponies of our legacy should never do."He ordered in an authoritative tone. Crow flinched again, avoiding the other stallion's gaze.
Fire Flower narrowed her eyes, trying to crawl out from under the painting. She had the clear impression that the old unicorn wasn't supposed to be there. She grunted, and slowly slipped out from beneath the frame.
"Oy Crow!" she called, carefully standing up, ignoring the pain in her muscles,as she glanced worriedly at the flock of birds. "Is he a friend of yours? Not to be a party buster, but I don't think we exactly have the time to chit chat now!" she added carefully. The stallion ignored her, his eyes locked on the figure of the old unicorn, almost mesmerized. On the other hoof, the old unicorn raised an eyebrow, and placed his golden eyes on the mare.
"Is this the company you keep now, Crow?" he asked deviously, raising an eyebrow. Crow slightly turned his head, his fogy eyes focusing on Fire Flower as if this was the first time he had seen her. "I thought you learned your lesson last time. Nobles like you shouldn't stay around commoners." continued the old pony, his horn shining menacingly, seeming to sharpen and bend like a dangerous hook as his eyes narrowed.
"Crow, come on..." pleaded the mare, flinching as a couple of crows left the flock to land near her, hissing and showing their sharp beaks.
"You know what you have to do, Crow." whispered the old stallion, returning his eyes to Crow. "Look what it brought you, being weak and permissive."
"Father, please..." peeped the green stallion, trembling, as the horn of the old unicorn started to shine with a pale light, tearing away the rotten planks and revealing the dark beneath. Crow looked down the hole and paled, his horn starting to glow, lifting up a silver rapier that shimmered as it was held firmly in his grasp.
The hilt was shaped like a flying crow, and the blade was sharp and menacing, shining as lightning darted through the air.
"Crow...?" asked the mare, taking a step back. The stallion looked at the sword, swinging it through the air, before turning, his eyes hollow and glassy as they locked on the.
"Do it."
The unicorn let out a trembling scream and charged, the sword swinging through the air. Fire Flower stiffened, before jumping out of the way. The noble turned, his eyes still locked on the mare, and thrusted, trying to stab her.
"Crow, what the hell!" she screamed, rolling over the ground, trying to dodge every swing and thrust of the stallion. "Snap out of it!"
"I was never more lucid than I am now." muttered the unicorn, turning and swinging the rapier again, cutting a couple of hairs free from the mare's mane. Fire Flower hopped back again, continuously stepping back to avoid every swing of the unicorn. "Ever since I met you, your wretched sister, and all the other low-class peasants, everything has fallen apart. It's your fault!"
"It sure is." cooed the old unicorn gently, grinning as he watched Crow swiftly slashed upwards, slicing open one of the mare's cheeks and leaving a faint trail of blood in the air. "Whoever makes us weak shall be eliminated."
The mare grunted, closing her eye as she rolled back again, blood starting to spread along her muzzle. Crow seemed... possesed, as he continued to advance, the rapier held in front of him. She instinctively tried to summon her magic, but a few sparks were all she managed to summon. She continued to crawl back, until finally her hooves found nothing under them.
She turned, and gulped, looking over the ravaged edge of the ship, giving away to the abyss below. An abyss of mist and fog, partially covered by the flock of birds flapping their wings, keeping the hull in the air. She returned her eyes to the unicorn in front of her, gritting her teeth. She could try to dodge to either side, but Crow could easily recover from a thrust and stab her right in her flank...
"Crow..." she called again. The stallion didn't react, slowly creeping towards her, the sword rised and ready to strike. The old unicorn grinned, showing a line of sharp and pointy fangs as the younger one swung the rapier, ready to strike. The cawing of the crows rose in volume as the hull rocked slightly, the birds rushing around it rapidly, the sound of their feathers scraping the wood echoing through Fire Flower's ears.
"You know, the underdeck of these ships is more comfortable than expected."
Fire Flower blinked, as Crow regained some clarity for a second, turning his head slightly as a few planks from the floor were torn apart, allowing Lightning Nova to crawl out from the belly of the ship. He brushed off his mane, before looking around, a plank still in his hooves. "Did I interrupt something?"
The old unicorn let out a screeching scream, opening his mouth and lunging towards the pegasus. Nova blinked, before rapidly swinging the plank of wood, hitting the other ponyin the chin, closing his mouth violently and knocking a couple of fangs flying in the air.
"Father!" squealed Crow, turning and running to the unicorn's side, dropping the rapier. Nova quickly glanced at them, before crawling out and starting to run towards the edge of the boat.
"Jump!" he screamed at Fire Flower. The mare gulped but immediately obeyed, turning and jumping off the edge. After a second, she felt the strong forelegs of the pegasus closing around her chest, as he flapped his wings rapidly and darted down through the air, avoiding the crows flying around the boat, and heading towards the city below, rain pouring violently around them.
"Father!" called Crow again, trying to help up the older unicorn. "Vulture, are you-"
"Stop pestering me, you foolish child!" roared the other unicorn, smacking him away and dragging himself up. Crow gulped and crawled back, looking in fear at the way the coat of his father seemed to have become a mix of feathers, his muzzle now sharp and hooked, similar to a beak. "You let them away! You are as useless as your mother."
"But... they left, father..." he blabbered in confusion. His eye slightly twitched when a few crows started to land on the ship. Vulture hissed, his eyes narrowing menacingly.
"They are still alive, Crow. It's your duty to eliminate any menace to our name, isn't it?"
"I... yes, it is..." blabbered Crow, stiffening when a couple of birds landed on his head.
"Then you know what to do." croaked Crow's father, pointing with a wrinkly leg at the rapier. The noble turned his head and, trembling, rose the sword in his grasp, looking at the blood being washed away by the rainwater. He slowly waved the sword, ignoring the sound of flapping wings coming from Vulture. His eyes focusd on the silver hilt, and slowly started to scream to himself, as even more and more crows started to land on him, digging their claws into his flesh.
-oOo-
Trevor flinched as another bolt of lightning crossed the sky, lighting up the dark street of the town for a second. He had the impression that he saw a few silhouettes crawling in the street beside him. He gulped and continued to walk, looking rapidly around, searching for an open door. He needed to get cover from the rain, and fast. A slight moan in the rain, right behind him, made him accelerate, until he finally smirked: a slightly open door.
He quickly darted inside the building, closing the door behind himself, finally letting out a breath of relief. He was safe from the rain, and all the things that lurked within it. He slowly sat on the ground, and finally let himself look around: he was inside a dres shop apparently, judging by the shattered remains of mannequins and ripped clothes on the floor. He glanced back, and finally relaxed when he didn't see anything crawling towards him throught the rain.
His relaxing lasted just a few seconds, as his ears perked up as a muffled banging sound coming from the backdoor. Trevor opened an eye, carefully standing back up, and slowly grabbing the bloody wrench from his saddlebag.
"Of course I couldn't find an empty shelter. I have to fight for it." he grumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes and starting to look around, carefully sizing up the room, searching for any possible threat. A muffled crash joined the thumping, and a series of grunts echoed from the door behind the counter.
"Mh... very well then..." he whispered, slowly approaching the door. He clutched his teeth around the wrench, and then swung the door open. He had just a second to react and lower his head, when the head of a mannequin flew over him, smashing on the ground behind him.
"Great idea! Let's go to the backroom, where there are even more of these freaks!" roared Metal Hooves, turning slightly and swinging the hammer firmly held in his magic grasp to smash the head of a mannequin crawling towards him, pieces of plastic falling from the artificial body to reveal charred and scorched flesh.
"Well, how the heck was I supposed to know that they stored these things here?" grunted Solaris, back to back with the other pony, tossing a mannequin against another group of faceless dolls charging at them. Metal Hooves huffed, swinging his hammerto fend off another couple of mannequins before turning towards tTevor, his hammer raised, ready to strike.
"Woah there big guy!" groaned Trevor, stumbling back. Solaris moved his eyes towards the stallion, raising his ears and allowing himself to smile, while punching away another screeching mannequin.
"Trevor! I thought I lost you." he called, smirking. Metal Hooves immediately lowered the hammer, twirling it in the air to aid his companion, as mannequins countinued to pour out of the numerous cartons scattered at the end of the storage room. The earth pony narrowed his eyes and stiffened, starting to hit the mannequins, cracking the plastic heads that entered into the range of his wrench, ignoring the splurts of blood and living flesh that splattered out the cracks in the fake bodies.
"Same. Glad to see you are still in this hellhole." he grunted, looking around at the fizzling lights on the ceiling, the rustling boxes vomiting out mannequin after mannequin, and the unnatural darkness at the end of the room. "I was just searching for a shelter from the rain."
"Same. Then these things decided it would have be nice to try and choke us." hissed Solaris, grasping a mannequin by its head, and tearing it off with a loud crack. "And here I was hoping to be able to rest after escaping from a dragon!"
"You escaped a what now?!" asked the pony in disbelief. He had seen a lot of messed up stuff in this town, that much was true, but... a dragon? That seemed a bit of a stretch. But again, not that he was going to be too surprised. "We have to reach the others, then." he grunted, while turning and knocking down a mannequin. The plastic pony emitted a hissing scream, vomiting a stream of blood onto the floor, before laying motionless.
"The others?" asked Metal Hooves, raising an eyebrow. Solaris nodded, finally dropping his hooves on the last mannequin, causing a shattering sound that echoed through the now suddenly silent storage. The lifeless bodies of the mannequins lied around them, shattered and broken, and apparently, devoid of any kind of life. He let his eyes wander carefully through the room: the cartoon boxes were laying limp on the floor, between the ragged and ripped remains of clothes and saddles, abandoned in the middle of the room, slightly covered in moss and moisture coming from a dripping stream of water from the wall.
"The big stallion with the little sister and the pegasus mare." he answered rapidly, squinting his eyes, trying to look into the dark corners of the room. "They went to the hospital, trying to find help, since one of the mare's wings was really... well, it wasn't ok at all."
"We should wait for the rain to stop. Otherwise the outside is just a trap." noted Trevor, sitting on the ground, before raising his hoof toward the unicorn stallion. "Name's Trevor."
"Metal Hooves." answered the other one, sitting as well and dropping his hammer to the ground, bumping his hoof lightly against the other pony's. "And honestly, it's not like it's much safer inside."
"Well, it's apparently safe now. We should wait."
The two glanced at each other, before both looked at Solaris. The third stallion was completely ignoring the two, and took a slow step towards the darkness.
The darkness almost waved, as a slight hiss rose from it, togheter with the strong smell of gas.
-oOo-
"What are we going to do now, Camo?" squealed the little filly, clutching her brother's neck, looking terrified as the wall of the hospital flinched, covered in what seemed to be living flesh, veins and nerves crisscrossing them like an arabesque of webs. The stallion didn't answer, looking slowly around, holding in his shivers as he felt the flashy floor twich under his hooves. Twisted was panting slightly beside him, his eyes exploring the corridors, ready to scram at the first sign of any infected pony stumbling around.
"We have to get out." the stallion finally stated. "We have to find the stairs, and get down to the first floor, then get out. Reunite with Trevor and Solaris, then find a way, ANY way to get away from here."
"B-but what about High Winds? And Silver Streak?" asked the little filly fearfully. She flinched when a loud moan came from the darkness behind them, and tightened her hold as her brother started to trot rapidly down the hall.
"I don't know Dahlia. But we can't just walk around here. I want to keep you safe." he grunted. Twisted Soul rolled his eyes, galopping beside him. They flinched slightly when a series of gurgling screams and thumps came from the upper floor, but they didn't stop, until a sudden scream echoed from their left, where the corridor opened on a side passage. Camo stopped and stiffened, as Dahlia yanked on his head.
"That's her! It's High Wind Camo! She need help!"
"And yet, the stairs are right here..." noted Twisted, pointing to a set of stairs a few meters away from them, slightly lit by a couple of red emergency lights sticking out of the fleshy wall. "I'm merely following you at this point, since if I try to go alone I'll probably end up dead in a few seconds. So, what are we going to do?" he asked in a silky tone.
Camo moved his head, thinking. He had to take his sister to safety, he couldn't lose time searching for a mare that couldn't even keep herself safe. But still...
"You aren't a monster."
Camo turned and started to run down the corridor, heading towards the screaming, the unicorn trying to keep up with the earth pony's powerful steps. Finally, squinting his eyes, he managed to see the source of the screaming: near what seemed to be a set of stairs to the upper floor, partially covered in crusts and tendrils, there was High Wind.
She was crawling over the floor, trying to flee from one of the skinned pegasi that had already attacked Camo the first time they had entered into the hospital. The skinless creature had its flesh wrapped around the hindlegs of the mare, slowly crawling up to wrap her whole body in the cocoon of skin.
Slightly behind her, slowly stepping down the stairs, there was another one of those creatures, its flesh already closed around something, or someone. Camo bared his teeth and charged without even slowing down, and without hesitation smashed his hoof into the creature's face.
"Camo!" squealed the mare, a note of relief in her panicking voice. The stallion didn't answer, hitting the creature again and flinching at the sensation of the raw, bloody flesh hitting his hoof. The creature squealed and crawled back, retracting its wings in pain.
Twisted barely glanced at the mare before summoning his magic, grasping a stretcher laying in the corridor and using his magic to toss it sideways into the creature. Camo rapidly pushed it with even more strength, pressing the skinless pegasus against the steps, trying to hold it off and stopping it from wrapping its limp flesh around him.
Dahlia rapidly jumped off her brother's back, letting out an 'ewwww' of disgust when her hooves touched the fleshy floor, but she rapidly shook it off and ran towards the pegasus mare, helping her to crawl away from Camo and the struggling being.
"Thank you... thank you thank you thank you..." she rapidly squealed, tryng to get back up on her hooves. The little filly just hugged her leg, before raising her eyes.
"Where is the other mare?" asked Camo with a grunt, as he tried to hold back the creature. Twisted was trying to help, but apparently his magic and the strength of the earth pony wasn't enough to hold the creature still as it continued its violent struggle. High Winds tried to catch her breath, before pointing at the other creature who was observing them from above the stairs.
"Fuck! Twisted, do something!" roared the stallion, hitting the creature's chin with the stretcher.
"What do you want me to do?!" screamed back the unicorn, looking up as the skinned creature emitted a rasping sound similar to laughter, staring down at them with its empty sockets. "I can't use my magic!" he roared, looking around. "Take who you can and let's get out of here!"
"We can't leave Silver here!" squealed Dahlia, trying to pull the unicorn's tail. Camo glanced back at the monster staring at them. It was out of reach, and between that and them, there was the monster that had been trying to wrap up High Winds. Camo gulped, looking around, searching for a solution. He wasn't a monster! He wasn't going to leave others behind. But still, what could he do...?
"Here you are! My patient!" squealed a gruff voice behind them, accompanied by the sound of something metallic scratching the fleshy wall.
-oOo-
Winter Lily slowly opened her eyes, shivering. It was cold. The last thing she remembered was the brightness of the fireplace and the feeling of food filling her stomach. Now, as she snapped her eyes open, she saw how the fireplace had gone out, just a few ashes dancing where the fire had once burned happily.
The room was dark,and it was almost impossible for her to make out the silhouettes of the objects around her. She squinted her eyes, and carefully lit up her horn with a bit of an effort, a pale light starting to shine around her: the floor was now covered in dust, the scratches left on the floor by the chains of the monstrous pony were now filled in withdirt and scraps, while a dense cover of dust layed over every peace of piece of furniture.
"Hello...?" she whispered, looking around, the sense of peace and calm that had filled her before falling asleep now totally gone. She carefully turned around, starting to feel tears filling her eyes. "Hello...?" she peeped again, trembling. A faint wail came from a side room, followed by the dragging steps that anticipated the massive monster's entrance, its chains dragging on the ground, making new scars on the wooden floor.
The creature emitted a muffled moan, waving a hoof weakly. At first the mare flinched at the sight of the eyeless creature, but then she immediately lowered her eyes, trying not to stare at the scars and stitches on its naked body, and pouted.
"Don't do that again!" she squealed, trying to rapidly rub her eyes. "I was starting to think you had left me here."
The creature slightly cocked its head, the empty sockets that were its eyes staring at the mare, before it emitted another muffled gurgle and gently patted the mare on the head with a scarred hoof, before slowly starting to walk towards the massive door on the other side of the room. The door that led outside, probably.
"Wait, are you leaving?" hurriedly asked the mare, looking as the creature approached the door. The other pony nodded slightly, then pointed at the mare, then at the ground, and emitted a wail.
"There is no way I'm staying here." snorted the mare. The creature wailed again, and pointed again at the ground. The mare raised an eyebrow, and straightened up, hiding her trembling tail. "M-make me!"
The mauled pony flinched slightly, staring at the mare, probably considering the idea for a couple of seconds, before shaking its head, and gesturing beside itself with a slight whimper. Winter smiled slightly and rapidly joined him as he opened the door, and the room was suddenly filled with the banging sound of raindrops and thunders, a cold breeze hitting the mare's muzzle. She flinched slightly, before following the massive pony into the storm outside, staying close to its side.
Oo-oO
*silently crawls out of his hole, leaves the chapter here, and silently crawls back*